Office of the City Manager

Passadena Sister Cities Joins Mayors of Pasadena and Mishima, japan, in Historic Visit Marking 55 years of Ties for the Two Cities

PASADENA, Calif.—They met on the steps of Pasadena City Hall to shake hands in friendship and mutual respect: two mayors from two countries half a world apart—Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and Mishima, Japan, Mayor Takeshi Toyooka. The warm greeting between these two leaders Oct. 24 marked the historic milestone of 55 years of ties between Pasadena and Mishima fostered by the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee.

About 30 government and civic leaders from Mishima recently traveled to Pasadena for several days of official tours and other activities as part of the 55th Anniversary of establishing Sister City ties between the two cities in 1957.

At the official City Dinner, both mayors bowed and exchanged gifts, expressing deep appreciation for the positive benefits that the Sister Cities International program brings: increased cultural awareness, educational and economic exchange of ideas and opportunities, sponsorships of summer student exchange programs and fostering a world that lives in peace and prosperity.

“Our ties to Mishima go back decades and our desire is to extend them into the future for many more decades to come,” Mayor Bogaard said. “Our experiences with our friends from Mishima, either there or in Pasadena, provide opportunities for us that are truly enriching and otherwise simply not available.”

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded the Sister Cities program in 1956 to achieve international peace through a people-to-people concept between U.S. cities and foreign communities around the world. His hope was that with goodwill, understanding and helping other cultures we would ensure a world of peace. Presently, more than 500 U.S. cities have Sister City ties with about 2,000 cities in 140 countries. Sister Cities International, http://www.sister-cities.org/, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is one of the largest citizen exchange organization in the world.

Pasadena and Mishima joined together in 1957, the second Sister City relationship for Pasadena that was created after establishing ties with Ludwigshafen, Germany. In addition, Pasadena has Sister City ties to Järvenpää, Finland; Vanadzor, Armenia, and Xicheng District—Beijing, China.

For more information about the all-volunteer Pasadena Sister Cities Committee, its mission and events, go online to www.pasadenasistercities.org.